


Love Called My Name

by BrownSugarC



Category: NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-13 21:16:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownSugarC/pseuds/BrownSugarC
Summary: Over the past four seasons we found ‘Sonja Percy’ both loved and despised by fans.  Knowing of her near death should have endeared her to viewers.  There came a day when I realized how much she could love Christopher LaSalle and that’s where this story begins.





	1. Chapter 1

Agent Percy.  Agent Percy!!!  You need to stand down.  We got this”

“Oh my goodness, it’s you Roberts.  How did you find us?”

“Your comments on your open mic lead us right here.  Christensen and Overtuff are down but they are still alive.  We’ll get them to hospital and have a better idea of their recovery time.  I’m guessing that you are more than ready to be heading back to the States”

“Yeah.  This has been a tough mission.  I just want to be in my husband’s arms again and tell him how much I love him.”

In my mind I know Christopher will be pissed when I get home.  He has wanted me to leave this job for years but I just can’t seem to walk away from it.  It was everything that I wanted.  The adventure, the danger, the comfort in my success or rather my team’s success.  I only made it worse by telling him that I never trusted anyone more than I have him to keep me safe on a mission.  He has done so much by keeping the home fires burning and caring for the children. Maybe it is time to rethink this.

“Thank you” I say as I take a scotch from the flight attendant.  I need a strong drink after this last week.  I can wait to …………

I must have fallen asleep because that must have been a dream.  There is that haunting song that I had heard Chris play one day that he did not know that I had walked into his room on the farm.  He told me the title was simply ‘I Found.’  Don’t look at the video he warned me after he expressed his love for me that day.  I’m not sure exactly what they were thinking in doing it, but this song expresses how I feel about you.

_I Found_

_By_ [ _Amber Run_ ](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHWA_enUS633US633&q=Amber+Run&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLSz9U3qCxJLjPLAQDVF0pGDgAAAA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjb44fAiq3eAhXFT98KHTxoC1YQMTAAegQIBxAF)

_I'll use you as a warning sign_  
That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind  
And I'll use you as a focal point  
So I don't lose sight of what I want  
And I've moved further than I thought I could  
But I missed you more than I thought I would  
And I'll use you as a warning sign  
That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

_And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be_  
Right in front of me  
Talk some sense to me

_And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be_  
Right in front of me  
Talk some sense to me

_And I'll use you as a makeshift gauge_  
Of how much to give and how much to take  
I'll use you as a warning sign  
That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

_And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be_  
Right in front of me  
Talk some sense to me

_And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be_  
Right in front of me  
Talk some sense to me

_Oh, and I found love where it wasn't supposed to be_  
Right in front of me  
Talk some sense to me

_And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be_  
Right in front of me  
Talk some sense to me

It seemed so long ago I recall as I think about that dream.  Let me remember I contemplate as we taxi to the gate…


	2. The Man with the Smile

It was the smile that got to me.  It didn’t matter what the situation was sooner or later there it was. 

The aftermath of Savannah’s death affect me more than I expected.  After her death his interaction with the ‘other women’ made him put up a barrier to me especially after Pride paired us up.  I never said the word but a woman like LaSalle was labeled a ‘hoe’.  I still don’t understand how he kept them all straight.  I never said anything out loud even to Brody but it was like there was a difference between them and me.  Even through all the teasing that Brody and I did, he kept just enough distance between the two of us for me to notice.

Once we were partnered up he tried to do that ‘bond’ thing with me.  I had asked around and the women that I knew on NOPD described him as a really good cop but put the ‘hoe’ label on him and what we women called men like him ‘a low down dirty dog’ when it came to women.

While I could respect his professional ability, I thought he was too nosy when it came to my personal business.  There came a day though that I realized that he was actually cute but by then my opinion of him sleeping around was at the forefront of any ‘personal friendship’ that we might have.

Brody and I rode his ass which came to a head the day one of the ‘ladies’ dropped his house keys by the office.  I learned later on from Brody that Pride had overheard the two of us laughing about it and then read him the riot act.  Pride let it slip with Loretta what the real deal was and Brody and I had a loud conversation about this rental that I saw but passed on because it was too far out of the city.  LaSalle inquired with his nosy ass just like we expected and went out to look at it and quickly settled in.

Since he had run from me when Savannah died, I didn’t want to push him and I didn’t want him too deep in my own life so I just worried from afar and talked with Pride and Merrie then Tammy.

I had only been at the new place once when the whole Melody and Tucker episode pissed me off and gave me every reason never to want to go there again.  We took the cases as they came but then had the blow up with Melody.  He hid the situation from me for months.

 He crept back into my heart, well he really never left, then came the Mariam incident and he was a little angry with me.  I couldn’t tell him the whole truth because I knew he wouldn’t understand.  I never wanted him to think that I would do the same thing with him and not believe him.  It cause tension between us but since we were just partners then we let it go.

After the sleeping around, he was dating off and on while I spent the weekends at Pride’s bar or drinking alone at my place.  I kept telling myself how I didn’t need a man not realizing that he was creeping into my heart, one day at a time.

I had a lot of time to think while I was sitting in solitary confinement.  I knew I had never met a man like him or Pride.  Loretta had given me the back story on Pride.  I knew about Triple P.  But LaSalle did create some intrigue. He was country but he had a rhythm of life that I had seen in my own ethnic family.  The respect, the family drama, family tree and traditions mirrored my own family. 

Chris told me later on that he had difficulty chipping away at my armor.  He thought after he saved the guy from robbing me with the stolen weapons case early on and my compassion about his brother he might have whittled away at me a little but only found out it was a negative.

The whole City Mouse/Country Mouse situation deepened our relationship.  It seemed to make us more than a team and more like a couple.  He looked at me more endearing as the weeks went by.  Well maybe it was me that was doing the looking but he began to find a new place or two in my heart.  I couldn’t wait to see him every morning.  I wanted to laugh at his jokes.  I wanted to be around him.  I learned more about his moves when we were doing recon together.  We began to mirror talk.  Then one day I was in deep shit and the first person I called was Chris, not my supervisor.  I had a long time to think while I was in that cell by myself.  Every thought eventually came back to Christopher LaSalle. 

Now that I look back our relationship was clear -- He chased me then ran when he caught me.  That about covered year two of our partnership.

Chris came and got me out of jail.  Somehow he convinced the judge to let me out.  I knew that I could have been killed during that time frame.

So I took a chance.  Tried to lay it on the line and he shot me down.

The next few weeks were horrible.  I was mad at him for making me want to be with him.  I was mad at myself for thinking that he would want some dull, hard ass woman like me who dressed like a man every day.  I wondered to myself what the hell I was thinking.  Girl, you ain’t blonde enough, thin enough or cute enough to catch his attention never less his love.

I just wanted to be away from him.  I tried every excuse to not to be alone with him.  Of course Tammy knew but no one else.  It caused problems at work with the entire team even Ms. Loretta.  Every time I saw him it made it worse.  I wanted him so bad.  No one but him.

Even when he finally tried to talk it out with me, it only caused a ‘scab’ on the situation.  I found myself resenting him and begrudging being stuck in a city where I saw no future and no adventure.  I knew it was time to leave.

I was surprised when Pride let me go on leave.  Like it did any good because all I thought of was Chris or rather me not being able to be with him.  Then when the opportunity finally presented itself, I almost passed it up. 

Even when I decided to walk, there was a lingering hope that I could be with him but in the end I shut the door.  He hugged me my last day to my utmost disappointment.  I wanted him to grab me and kiss me passionately and beg me not to go but he didn’t so I finally felt free to leave.


	3. The New Adventure

My new job with the FBI was everything that I could have asked for.  I ended up in five different countries the first seven months.

And while I was excited, my heart was still drawn to New Orleans.  I had learned that Pride had been shot.  I contacted Tammy immediately on a secure phone.  She said that I had just missed Chris.  I texted him daily from my location knowing that I would not see his replies until I got back in country.  He thanked me for my concern.

I contacted Tammy once again when I was back in country after I read his replies.  She told me that things had really changed and that they had a new supervisor.  Tammy thought that she would work out okay.

I asked about the team one by one leaving Chris to last so I would seem too eager.  I was concerned at Tammy’s hesitation.

“Well Sonja, you know how good LaSalle is.  That hasn’t changed but he is quieter now.  Frankly Sonja, I think he misses you.

“Why would you say that” I asked.

Well he gets real quiet when Hannah asks about your case notes.  I see him look at your old desk sometimes when he doesn’t realize that I am watching him.  Every once in a while someone will come in and ask for you and his face gets real sullen.

I don’t know the last time that he has had a date.  He seems to live at Pride’s bar.  He silently smiles as we all sit joking but his head doesn’t seem quite there with us.  One night this petite woman who favored you came into the bar.  He just stared at her not even embarrassment at the fact that we might be watching him.  He looked her up and down throughout the time she was here. I’m surprised that she didn’t catch on.

He will often ask me about you but as far as I know has refused to call you.  He told me that you needed your space.  Triple P told me that he told him to let you find your bliss.

I knew that I was right to move on.  I continued to ‘learn new things” as Linda Pride encouraged us to do.  My six month evaluation consisted of all superlative elements.  I was delighted and intrigued with each assignment.  New Orleans seemed like a distant past.  Boy was I mistaken.


	4. The Reunion

“We’re giving you a domestic assignment Agent Percy.” My boss tells me.  “You will be detailed to the FBI Academy at Quantico.  We will be bringing in agents from other services to discuss interaction between them all.  We are thinking that your time undercover the ATF will provide insight for those working in a larger SMSA.  This will about ten weeks including prep time.”

Unbeknownst to me Chris LaSalle was having a similar conversation with his supervisors.

**_Sonja_ **

I had my back to the door when I heard his voice behind me.  There was no doubt whose twang that was.  I stood there beaming as his eyes looked my way.  “Hey LaSalle, what’s up?  I didn’t know that you were in this training” I said as we hugged each other tightly.

I would have rather he had sat by me because I found myself looking his direction way too often.

The afternoon went by quickly.

“Hey Percy, how about dinner?”  “Sure Chris I just need to go by the condo and let the dogs out.  Where are you staying? I can come back and get you?”  I was surprised to learn his hotel was less than a mile from my condo.  “I’ll pick you up about 7.”  “Sounds okay” he responded.

I had forgotten had good he could look all cleaned up.  He had put on one of his Ted Baker shirts and dress pants.  I wasn’t going to disappoint and put on a skirt and heels.

My evaluation of my activity that night was not good.  For some reason I got nervous.  Shit, why am I lying to myself?  I saw him in that shirt and how great he looked and every good thing I ever thought about him came rushing back into my mind and my heart.  Crap.  I could have kicked my own self in the butt.

Most of the night was spent with him giving me an update on everyone in New Orleans.  He thanked me for keeping in touch with Tammy during aftermath of Pride’s shooting and recovery. 

“Your notes meant a lot to me Percy” he quietly said.  “Having you in my corner made it bearable.”   

“No big deal” I said.  “You guys stood by me after I got shot I was just returning the favor.”

We took a couple of twirls around the dance floor and then left to get a good night’s rest.  “It’s so good to see you again” he said as he hugged me again and kissed me on the check before he opened my door to let me into the driver’s seat.  It didn’t take long to get to his hotel or for me to drive into the parking ramp at my condo.  I threw the keys on the dresser then sat down on my bed and started crying. Oh shit was all I could say or think.  Damn you Christopher LaSalle.  Damn you!

**_La Salle_ **

I thought traffic in New Orleans was bad.  It’s worse when you have no idea where you are going.  I had to park ten years from the building after spending forever getting my rental checked in security for access to the compound.

Finally heading toward the right doorway I quickly looked around the room for an open seat.  Across the room I saw a smiling and familiar face – my old partner Sonja Percy.   I was not use to seeing her dressed up and noted that she had changed her hair style.  I don’t remember her looking that lovely before.  Oh shut LaSalle, this is your co-worker.

“Percy” I said as I hugged her tightly. “It’s good to see you again.  Are you in this project too?”  “Yeah, it looks like it.  Good to see you too LaSalle.  Hey, you need to find yourself a chair I think we will be starting in a few minutes.”

I zeroed in on her location in the break room.  “I can’t believe this.  I was going to try to call you while I was here but it looks like I’ll see you every day.   So, do you have dinner plans?  Do you think we could get together for dinner?”  “Sure Chris” she replied “I just need to go by the condo and let the dogs out.” 

The afternoon was over and Percy let me know that she would be back at 7 to pick me up.  Goodness she looked good.  I had forgotten how her perfume smelled.  I didn’t want to let her go when we hugged. 

I looked hard to see what ‘civilian clothing I had brought.  I decided on this blue shirt that Sonja had commented on one day on how it matched my eyes.  I had a hard time shaving.  What the hell LaSalle I thought.  You would think that you are going to see the Queen of England.  This was just Percy.  The same woman you rode with for two years.  The same one who sat by you when you both smelled like pigs or had stinking river water all over you.  The same one who took you home a couple drunken nights.  And yes, the same one that you let get away.

Ding there she is.

The restaurant was not too far away from my hotel.  They had Iowa steaks that Percy knew I would love.  We talked for a long while about New Orleans before I asked her if she wanted to dance.  That ended up being a mistake on my part.  I could smell both her soap and her perfume as I pulled her into my arms.  A perfect fit I thought.  O crap, this is going to be a very long two months.


	5. Finding My Heart

We didn’t make it past the first weekend.  Some of the guys in the class asked about a good party spot.  I suggested one of my favorites.  We took an Uber so we could drink freely.  It was really late when we left for the club but I wasn’t feeling the need to drink.  I suddenly realized how interesting Christopher LaSalle was.  You never noticed how one eye brow is higher than the other I thought to myself.  I don’t remember him telling me that he went to South America.

“Sonja?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think we could ever be more than just friends?”

“Why would you ask that now Chris?  You already closed that door.”

“Because I think that I was wrong to do that.”

“Well, I thought that you were wrong too Chris and if you remember you shut me down.”

“What could I say to reverse that wrong?”

“Let me think about it” I said coyly.

We continued to dance until he decided to take the chance and kiss me.  At that I took his hand and led him out to the balcony where we made out like teenagers.

“Let’s get out here” Chris whispered into my ear.

Chris had the driver drop us by his rental car where he retrieved his ‘go bag’.  We rode up the elevator with me trying to keep him at arm’s length.  I was not about to give a show under the eye of the elevator camera.

It didn’t take even a minute for us to be in my bedroom once the front door closed.  “Give me a minute” I eked out.

Back within his reach, Chris quickly pulled me into his arms.

We didn’t even get dressed Saturday.  For some reason I still had some pork chops in my freezer from when my sisters visited.  I had to admit that they did smell good after Chris cooked them.  Sunday we went out to get a late breakfast and Chris brought his dinner back with him. 

I clung to him early Monday morning as he left to go shower before our next conference session.  He flashed me that smile when I saw him in the training room making me go weak in my knees.  After a week, I suggested to Chris that he just bring all of his stuff to my condo since he was hardly in his own hotel room any way.

Our fifth week in the training we had a three day weekend.  “Why don’t you fly down to Alabama with me” Chris inquired?  I know that I looked at him like he was nuts.

“Yes Percy.  I’m serious.  You can lounge around or take peaceful walks on the farm.  We can even go over to Ms. Roses’ and ride horses.

The flight down was uneventful.  Chris always wants to play a role and used his finesse to get himself and his partner, me, an upgrade to first class.  Yes he has a winning smile which went into full force.  Once the plane was air borne and he pushed his arm rest up so I could cozy up close to him.  The flight attendant almost dropped our drinks when she realized we were more than the work partners that Chris represented to her.

The grounds of both the farm and the ranch were immaculate.  Chris noted the number of deer and told me that they had reproduced more than they probably should have since Cade and he were no longer there to cull the herd the past few years.

Saturday we got up and went to the ranch to ride horses.  I was a size smaller than Chris’ sister so her riding clothes fit me just fine.  We saw all kind of critters while up on the hill.  The horses got spooked once and Chris stopped to look around closely to see if there was a ‘big cat’ as he called it, lurking around.  Saturday night Mrs. LaSalle cooked a pheasant that she said Chris had shot for her.  It was a different kind of bird and I still don’t know if I liked it.

Sunday afternoon I found myself back down by the creek but this time alone.  I gasped at the beauty of the spot.  Hearing my stomach rumble, I realized that I only drank an energy drink that morning and headed back toward the house suspecting that lunch might be ready pretty soon.

The house appeared to be empty when I came in.  I did not see Chris’ truck in the drive.  I did hear music when I came into the front room.  I followed the sound to the door of Chris’ bedroom.  He had his back to the door and did not hear or see me.  It was an intriguing song and I strained to catch the word. _“I found love where it wasn’t supposed to be” right in front of me”._ Love I thought.

Chris must have caught me out of the corner of his eye.  He jumped ten feet and then turned red in the face.  For a moment he was silent then began to fumble for words.  Finally he made sense.  “So Sonja you caught me.”  I looked at him curiously.  “I play this when I want to focus on you.  I ran across it one day about six months after you left.  It has helped me recently to understand how much I care for you.”

“There is only a simple way to say it.  I love you Sonja Percy.  You have truly found a way into my heart that I never want you to leave me.  Say that you will marry me?”

I paused like a deer caught in headlights.   “Oh Christopher.  Yes I will marry you.”  He grabbed me and twirled me around.  Then he ran into the kitchen to tell his mother that I said yes.

And yes, I had a few questions mainly ‘this is it’?


	6. My Love

It was only years later that I found out that Brody had helped Chris prepare his entire proposal to me.

We stopped by the post office when we got back D.C. to get Chris’ mail that they were holding for him.  My own box at the condo was jammed packed.  The front desk person was still on duty and gave me a larger package.  We were both beat after the trip which was delayed by a flight crew snafu. 

I decided to go take a quick shower and really expected Chris to join me.  As I sat there combing hair out, I notice there was a vase of yellow roses that were not there when I first came in to my bedroom.  I got up to smell them and noticed that package from the desk was lying there as well.  What in the world I thought.  I sat on the edge of the bed and opened it and there I found a personalized story book entitled “The Love Story of Sonja and Christopher.  The book included photos of the two of us as children, then photos with our mothers, our graduations, our swearing in ceremonies into federal service, some of our cases together and our two NCIS teams.  The last two pages were place holders for photos from our engagement and our wedding.

Of course I immediately started crying.  I could hardly speak when I went out into the front room and just ended up hugging Chris around his neck as tightly as I could. 

“So, would you consent to wearing this now” Chris said as he took off a magnificent diamond engagement ring off his little finger.  “Oh, Chris is beautiful” I said through my tears as he put it on my finger.

A lot of things went through my mind the first few days after the engagement.  I was actually afraid to broach the subject about just how this marriage would work.  There is only one place for me to have this job I thought.  What are we going to do?  I didn’t think that it was fair that Chris might think that I would give up my job. 

I didn’t’ think anything of it when Isler called  on Tuesday and asked if I would be in the office any time soon.  We hadn’t seen each other for almost a year.  Actually I needed to go in and do some paperwork for my passport so I told him “yes” and added “let’s go have a drink afterward.”

As we sat in the bar Isler ask “so what do you think about LaSalle’s new job”?  “Job I asked?” looking very puzzled. “Well yeah, I heard he got a position over at the State Department.” 

“What?  This is the first time that I am hearing about any job” I exclaimed. 

“Of course it is Percy.  He wanted to surprise you and I am thrilled that he asked me to be part of the revelation.  Now go home to your man and let him know how exhilarated you are.”

After smothering him with kisses, Chris handed me a business card.  It was for a wedding planner.  “We have an appointment Saturday afternoon” he told me.  The planner had his stuff together and walked us through having a fashionable Washington wedding.  Since Chris already had a job, we decided to get married sooner than later. 

Our marriage counseling sessions were as challenging as I had envisioned.  I knew what crap I had hidden away in my heart and mind.  Knowing the relationship of Chris with his father and Savannah’s death, I could only guess of the depth of the rest of the trauma in Chris’ life. 

There came a point in the counseling where I thought about walking away.  That was some of the reasons one does it.  “You have to tell him” the therapist said.

“I don’t know how.  I don’t want him to see me as being that dirty”. 

“Come on Sonja” therapist said.  “You must have heard this at least once before from an officer or a counselor that your being raped was not your fault.  If he has concerns, I will make sure he gets the answers he needs to move on with you.”  Of course in the end there was no problem with Chris.  I sat for a long time in his lap crying about the whole situation.  He was the same loving, kind man that I walked into the office with that day when we walked out.

It was a beautiful, sunny Washington day for the wedding.  We were married at Meridian Hill Park which is unofficially known as Malcolm X Park.  The cascading waterfall was breathtaking.  We honeymooned at the St. Julien Hotel and Spa in Boulder. We had an opulent two-room suite with a balcony and deep soaking tub.  As one expected, we barely left the suite.

We had moved into our new home before the wedding.  Chris’ home in New Orleans evoked a bidding war and we were able to put an extra $50,000 down on the home in the Washington suburbs.  We were happy to find the four bedroom home with a mother in law suite.  I loved buying the furniture.

Time hurriedly went by and we had bypassed our third anniversary.  Chris never said a word about my frequent absences.  By then, however, I had seen two men in my department endure divorces.  Their wives had had it especial when Ian was shot in Ireland.  Since most of our missions were classified, I did not tell Chris about that specific mission only that Ian’s wife had filed.

Every time that I came home was like a new honeymoon.  We made sure that we had a date night the first week I was home since we never knew when I would be deployed again.  I was ecstatic that we were happy and able to discuss the ‘bumps in the road’ when they came up.

 


	7. Babies and More

“So am I really pregnant?” 

“Yes Mrs. LaSalle.  You look to be about three months along.  The nurse will be in a few minutes to bring you some information about your care the next six months and your prescription for pre-natal vitamins.”

“A baby?  Finally a baby.  Christopher will be thrilled.”

I hurried toward home to tell my husband after I made a stop.  “Can you wrap it” I said to a stunned clerk?” 

“I don’t know, let me ask my boss.”

“Of course we can wrap it ma’am the supervisor assured me.”

The package barely fit into my car.  “Put it right there” I told my neighbor.  Marcus was regular at our house since the day he found out that I could run like the wind.  He played in the backfield of his football team but for some reason chose me as his unofficial trainer.  The three of us talked trash every Sunday afternoon watching NFL football.

Next?  Order dinner. I still can’t cook meat the way Chris likes it.  I had found a restaurant the first month that I was in D.C. that had Iowa beef.  I stopped to set the table with my best dishes before I went in to take a quick shower.

It wasn’t fifteen minutes that I heard Chris come thru the door.  “Hi honey” I said.  “I thought we would eat in tonight.  Why don’t you catch a quick shower?  I laid out a shirt and trousers for you on the bed.  I hope you don’t mind.”

“Well, Sonja LaSalle what are you up to” Chris asked with a gleam in his eye? 

“I just want to show you how much I love you Country Mouse.  Why would I have to be up to something”? 

“I’m not so sure but you still have a tendency to catch me off guard every once in a while.”

I walked back into the kitchen to put Chris’ champagne to chill.  I spent some thought on how I would not spill the beans by not drinking alcohol with him.  I finally decided that I would have two different bottles in the fridge.  That way I could pour the drinks into our bride and groom glasses and immediately know which one was mine without the alcohol but also not raise Chris’ scrutiny.

The dinner was wonderful.  After I rinsed off the china, I put on a Bonnie Raitt CD one of Chris’ favorite singers.  As we danced I spoke up “well Chris”

“I knew it Sonja.  I knew you were up to something just spill the beans where are you going this time?  You just got home!” 

“Chris you’re wrong.  I have a present for you.  It’s sitting by the bed in the guest room.”

Chris disappeared and in a few minutes I heard him holler that damn Alabama exclamation of ‘yoo hoo’.  He reappeared in front room with tears streaming down his face.  “Really City Mouse?  You’re really going to have a baby?” 

“Looks like it Papa LaSalle.”  At those words Chris lifted me arms and twirled us both around then kissed me hard. 

“Chris?  What are you doing?” 

“Well, I never made love to a pregnant woman before.  I just thought I would try it out.”

I was lucky that I didn’t have morning sickness or as my mother said ‘the sicknesses.  Evidentially she had been sick twenty four hours a day for three months with my sister.  I absolutely loved preparing the baby’s room.  It was hard to imagine how someone could be so small to fit into the clothes that we accumulated.

Loretta asked me how long I would be staying at home when I spoke with her about a month later.  That sparked a deep conversation that the two of us had barely spoken of during the three years of our marriage.  While we had talked about having children, who would care for them was not discussed. 

We had purposely bought the home with the mother in law apartment.  Now we needed someone to occupy it.  Actually it was Cade who nominated his momma for the job. Chris said that while it had crossed his mind once, he did not think that I would choose her over my own mother.  He was wrong I thought to myself.  While I loved my mother, having her in my house more 24 hours at a time was not something that I wanted to consider.

I suggested that Mrs. La Salle find an easy chair that she liked and bed covers and she could order and have them delivered to our house.  Brody flew in one three day weekend and helped me make the beds in mother LaSalle’s and the baby’s room. 

The baby’s room was full of gifts.  I cried as Merrie and I put them into their rightful place.  Then I cried in her arms over the thought of having to leave my baby at home while I trekked all over the world.  That was a repeated scene over several years as I left my children to fulfill my obligation to my country.

Chris worried about my continuing my workouts with him during the remainder of the first pregnancy.  “Look” Chris I told him.  “You were at every appointment where the doctor purposely addressed my work out routine.  Don’t you think that she would say that I needed to stop or ease up on a certain part if it was necessary?”

Christopher Scott LaSalle was born on a snowy January 15th.  Named after his father and Coretta Scott King, he shared the birthday of one of my greatest heroes Martin Luther King.  I would sit on my grandmother’s lap as she told me about the time she meet Reverend King.  I would read through the many books that she had about him and grew up realizing how he had helped to raise our nation from the depth of its hate of people who looked like me.

I pushed another month out of my boss for maternity leave.  Chris was home for the first two months.  While he never complained, I know that breast feeding the baby interfered with our couple’s time.  I promised myself that I would do better with the next baby and kept little Chris with me as much as possible.  What Chris didn’t understand was just hearing the baby cry made my body to start expressing milk.  I had a very difficult time drying up while trying to work full days.

I had no idea how wonderful it would be to be a mother. Sure I was tired but it was worth it.  One thing about marrying a long time bachelor was that Chris knew all about housekeeping and cooking his own food.  He did, however, find several new restaurants that appealed to his palate and profusely thanked me for find a restaurant that served Iowa beef and pork.

Because I was breast feeding, I was required to add some meat and other things to my diet.  I tried not to like the food too much but between Pride and Mother LaSalle’s recipes my belly told me ‘don’t fight it’.

Mother LaSalle arrived a week before Chris went back to work.  By then I had learned to express my breast milk and we took an overnight to stay at a hotel.  I let Chris check up on the baby because hearing him cry would make me starting flowing.  I watched him on a silent screen.  Merrie thought that was stupid until she came to visit a month later and watched my shirt get wet as we were talking and the baby started crying in his bedroom.  See Brody I said, I wasn’t lying.

We hired a maid to mother LaSalle’s disapproval but let her continue to cook dinner for her own ‘boy’.  Chris griped about having to run extra miles to burn off the calories but did nothing to push away from the dinner table.

I did get back to work and found my mind distracted wondering how it was going at home.  I asked Mother LaSalle to call me when she put Chris down for his nap so I couldn’t hear him cry.  I had milk issues for almost two months after I returned to work.   My first overseas assignment was four months later.  I spent time training a new agent.  He and I were often paired together on assignments because we were so close and interacted so well.

Chris  was talking well as we entered the potty training phase.  Mother LaSalle had a sure fire way to help him to get with the program.  He was trained in a week.  His father was so pleased as he was a significant part of the experience.  I couldn’t believe it and neither could my mother.  I think it was the only really respectful thing that my own mother ever said about mother LaSalle.

I found myself lonely then crying one assignment deep in Somalia.  When I returned to the states, I went to the gynecologist and had her remove my IUD.   My next tour was a whole eight weeks overseas and my husband was more than enthused to have me back in our marriage bed.  Three months back in country I experienced a violent bout with the flu or so I thought.  This pregnancy was entirely different from the first.  My breast and stomach went through a radical change immediately.

“Chris, would you go into the guest room and get a quilt for me” I asked matterafactly.  There he found a note that said that he needed to put the baby bed back up and get the second one from under the bed.   He quickly returned with one of the biggest smiles that I had ever seen on his face 

“Do you know what they are?” he asked. 

“No Country Mouse, but there are two placentas so they will be fraternal and could be a boy and a girl or two of the same sex.  We later found out that there was a second boy and the little girl that I always wanted. 

Tammy called one day to check up on little Chris.  I expressed to her that I was concerned that he might forget me when I was away.  She suggested hanging a bulletin board on the fridge or a wall at his eye level.  You could hang photos of you and you with him on the board.  Only put the board out when you are out of the country or in training and not in your home each night.

Momma LaSalle told me that she often observed Chris and later the twins looking and talking to my photo on the board.  Each night she encouraged them to send me a kiss.  She reluctantly told me that she also witnessed them standing there crying wishing I could kiss their boo-boo or just talk to them.

James Lambert and Charlotte Marie were born on their grandmother’s birthday. Both were named after her.  Marie Lambert LaSalle was one of the strongest women that I ever knew.  She worked side by side Beau LaSalle as he built the company all while raising and giving birth to three children.   After he died, Chris found loan papers from her father that served as the seed money for LaSalle oil.  While he never told her that he got the money from her father, Chris said it made it a little clearer why he gave her the farm in their divorce with no argument.

The months flew by.  I enjoyed my time at home with my family and more than once whispered to myself how glad I was that I allowed myself to fall in love with Christopher long before he seriously considered me to be his partner and later his spouse.  Indeed love had called my name on an unexpected day when I was locked up in the New Orleans jail.

I don’t know where the time went but it was soon time to enroll young Chris into kindergarten.  I was happy to be in country his first day of school.   Chris took time off and we both walked the four blocks with him to his school.  He was already speaking French with his father so we found a retired diplomat I had met at a retirement ceremony to teach him how to write the language as well.  This was his homework for the first three years of his formal schooling. 

Four years later the twins started school.  We decided to put them into separate kindergarten classrooms.  In spite of what other parents did we had them living separate lives at a young age.  Actually they did it first.  They were entirely different from each other.  So different in fact, we decided to hire a night nurse so mother LaSalle and Christopher could get some rest after I went back to work.

My life continued in cycles of being home for a month or two and then into some yet to be determined region of the world.  The children grew older and so did I.


	8. Goodnight Country Mouse

The airplane finally made it to the gate.  It wasn’t hard to spot my husband.  He was the one with the biggest smile and the yellow roses.  While there are many times that Christopher LaSalle has taken my breath, this one has to be one of the best.  I have no idea if he knows anything about this mission.  He and Isler had developed some type of code of their own after one of my early missions went south.  My missions were classified and even Isler had restricted access to the details.  I would sometimes figure out that he knew more than I ever dreamed of telling him.

I quickly ran into his arms as he held me tightly.  A kiss and then another squashing but I wasn’t going to complain.  I had my own doubts if I would ever be in this place again.  I don’t know why my mind went back to the first time he hugged me.  It was only years later that he finally told me how relieved he was that Pride and I got off that tug alive.  While I had seen the look on his face as Pride told him that I would be the one to go with him, I couldn’t fully understand the fear in face because I was so angry that he questioned that I would be the one going.  There that first time in his arms, I felt safe.  I mean safe that only someone who had been undercover could understand.  Chris had had my back on several missions.  Every day I had put my life in his hands.  It was at that moment that I realized how thankful I was for this well trained and kind man who cared for me as a friend and team mate.

Chris explained one night in bed that it was then that he allowed his heart to become involved in our relationship.  Sure he said, he wanted to get to know me as a person but he said but in that time and place that he allowed himself to consider me as a woman not just his partner.  For years he said, he had wanted a woman by his side that could understand his job and why he loved being a cop.  He realized that we had grown so close that often he didn’t need to direct me during a sweep as I keyed off the look in his eyes, a head fake or the direction his feet pointed.  Our mirrored speech immediately caught Grogorio’s attention.  More than once it even made the two of us uncomfortable.

Since we spent so much time hugging, we finally just sat down in the waiting area.  I would now be at the end of the line to retrieve my fire arm.  I asked about everyone as I sat on his lap.  Finally when we came to a pause in our discussion, I jumped off and took his hand as we walked to the security desk. 

I turned around to see Chris on his phone.  “Home wife”.  I looked at him.  “We are going home right now Sonja.  Momma is taking the kids to an afternoon movie so we have a couple of hours to be alone.” 

Well no one needed to tell me twice.  It felt wonderful to be in my own rain shower again with the love of my life.  I don’t think my feet were even wet when I saw Chris out of the corner of my eye.  It was like the first time in D.C. all over.  I had missed him so and could not imagine how much it meant to see him show his love for me in this manner again.  We finally heard the children coming into the house and I sighed at the realization that our intimate time was over.

I put on some sweats and opened the bedroom door and quickly hurried to the mudroom to greet my darlings.  “Momma, Momma you’re home!”  Hugs and kisses were spread around.  Charlotte started crying and was soon in my lap.  Chris brought the bulletin board into the family room and they watched as I took off each note and photo and they explained them to me.  By the time I had looked at them all, grandma LaSalle let us know that dinner was ready.

I missed mother LaSalle’s cooking and baking.  She had made an extra effort to refine some of her veggie dishes often raiding my garden.  I had spent an afternoon with her brother while in Alabama and he gave me some hints on growing what he called ‘heritage’ seeds.

I knew it was time to hang it up when I missed Charlotte’s first game as a cheerleader.  She was excited on the recording that Chris had made of her telling of the experience. Later in the season she fell from the top of a pyramid.  It was a few days before I learned of the disaster and being half way around the world I just about lost my mind with worry about her being/not being injured.

We had a date night just two days after I returned from a mission.  “Chris, I talked with Mitchell today.  He said that we had enough money in the LaSalle account to pay off the house.  Since we can no longer deduct mortgage interest on our taxes, it makes sense to do it now before Chris graduates.  Then I could retire after the first of the year.  My retirement pay would be about 70% of what I am bringing home now.  I would just move onto your health plan with the children.”

“That sounds wise City Mouse” Chris says.  I keep talking and turn back to see tears leaking out of my husband’s eyes.

“What Country Mouse”?

“I could never ask you to leave that job Sonja.  I know you love it too much but I am afraid every time you get on a plane.  You will find no objection here.”

I was surprised at how well I adjusted to being a full time mom.  Of course it was only then that I really discovered what I had missed being away from my household.  The chit chat of the children amazed me as I served as the chauffer to practice, games or the mall.  Charlotte’s snooty fellow cheerleaders took me back to my own high school days.  Young Chris about died the first time I came to his track practice until I walked over to help some of the guys work on getting out of their starting blocks.  Later in the season he told his dad how much he enjoyed seeing his own mom lap his coaches while they ran their daily distances.  Jimmy often joined us on the track to get his required miles in as he stayed in condition for basketball season.

Mother LaSalle vacillated about returning to Alabama and ended up going to her farm right after Christmas.  She always hated the cold weather and relished in sitting on her porch in February and March while we endured the latest snow storm in D.C.


	9. My Dream Continues

Our lives moved on filled with the joys and sorrows of life.  Chris graduated the next spring and accepted an appointment to the Naval Academy.   He had done well in his high school ROTC program and having a recommendation from the NCIS Division Director didn’t hurt either.

The twins continued on their separate ventures with great success in the class room, sports and outside ventures.  Charlotte’s cheer squad won State both her junior and senior years. She also played Lacrosse a sport that I still don’t understand.   Jimmy was selected all conference in basketball his senior year and was team co-captain.  Both were ranked in the top 3% of their graduating class.

We had our first scare with mother LaSalle when the twins were seniors.  She had somehow gotten tripped up by one of her dogs, fell and broke her hip.  Fortunately the home place was all on one floor.  Chris hired an aid that stayed on site with her.

We walked down to the creek while we were there and Chris had a remembrance about the time that he and Cade spent on the island.  “I could stand right up there” Chris pointed and see every deer that came down here to drink. 

“So you never thought you might want to build a house up there I asked?” 

Chris looked at me as if I had thrown a bomb at him.  “You have got to be kidding me City Mouse, it never crossed my mind.”  We decided then and there that would be the location of our new home.  We met with two builders and contracted with a lab tech to come to do a soil analysis.  We also obtained an estimate for a hook up to the new sewer line coming in about half mile over the hill.  We discovered that building a pump over a berm would be cheaper in the long run than a septic system.

We flew back to D.C. on Sunday afternoon and met with an appraiser on Monday for our house in D.C.  Shocked at the final figures of the value of the house, we made plans to put the house on the market right after Easter.  In the end we received multiple offers which erupted into a bidding war.  We closed three weeks after the twins graduated and were able to just load up the moving truck and move right into the new house in Alabama.

Chris stayed on in D.C. for a couple more months and was able to take terminal leave the last 45 days of the year.  Sadly this was another time that fate worked in our favor.  Mother LaSalle took a bad turn after Christmas and passed away a week after her favorite holiday Valentine’s Day.  The children had insisted that we fill her house with flowers.  I am so glad that I responded positively to their request.

She called me close to her on the 13th as I placed another vase of roses in her room.  “Thank you Sonja” she said quietly.  I looked at her with a question in my face.  “Thank you Sonja for loving my boy.  I never told you that he came home a second time in a lot of pain because of a woman.  I never had anything against Savannah and I thought the puppy love phase would end but it never did.  I always knew my son’s heart.  He was a lot like his father in the respect to business he had one goal only one.  Chris wanted to be a police officer. 

His father would have had a fit if he knew that I was the one who gave Christopher the seed money to relocate.  I wasn’t always sure that I had done the right thing especially after Katrina.  He was so filled with anger and rage.  Then he got a new job.  I only met his new boss once but I could tell by the tone of his voice how drawn Chris was to that Mr. Pride.

Things got a little better.  He got a new partner a woman from the east.  Then if I remember right he met you and some other woman from the east coast.  One day he called me and simply said ‘momma I need to come home’ 

“Alright son, I’ll be right here.”  He sulked around for three or four days.  Him and old Blue would disappear for hours and come back empty handed.  Finally I asked him if he was ever going to bring me a pheasant to cook for him.  He looked at me as if I asked him if he was going to bring me the moon.

“Why are you here Christopher?  Have you done something wrong?” 

“Yeah momma.  I really messed up.” 

“Then he told me all about this woman.  How he had let her go for her own good.  How it broke his heart.  How he realized how wrong he had been.  How the pain hurt him so.  I questioned him about how/if he could fix it and he said that there was no way to fix it.”

“The first time I saw you I wanted to cry because I knew you were the woman.  Christopher had only said that his old partner was flying down to get away from the City and relax.  I could see the loving looks that you two exchanged as he held the car door for you when you first drove up.”

“You have loved him as one might see in a fairytale.  I appreciate how you have accepted me into your heart and into your home.  My grandchildren are beautiful individuals.”

She dozed off to sleep holding my hand.  I covered her up with a quilt and walked back out to the porch as one tear then another trickled down my cheeks.  Thank you God I thought.  Thank you for this wonderful woman who raised the man of my dreams.  Thank you for her love and kindness that she has shown to me and my children.

I’m glad that I had this time to cry because I had no idea that she would only live a few more days.  I had to be strong for my children and for their father.  Marie LaSalle had done more for me than any other person I had known.  She had gathered my children into her heart into her bosom and into her lap and loved and held them when I couldn’t.  She walked the floor with crying children who were ill, teething or missing their mother.  I owed her a debt that I could never repay. 

Of course the children took her passing with great difficulty.  I was comforted that Chris felt free enough to express his grief to me and to some extent in front of the children.  I realized how much he had depended on her while the children were growing up.  Her wisdom and own parenting experience helped us both in raising the children and helping/guiding them to make wise life choices.

We were stunned to lose Isler and Ms. Loretta within a few months’ time of each other.  Tammy and her wife made an annual trek to come for Thanksgiving and take a live tree from the farm home for Christmas.  One holiday we all met in New Orleans to spend time with Pride, Laurel and her family.  Brody, Sabastian and Plame also flew in with their spouses.  Once again our timing was perfect as Pride was hit by a street car the next spring.  Chris took his death hard as well.  “King was the father I always wanted” Chris told me on the way back to ‘Nola for the funeral.  The church overflowed with mourners as this ‘king’ of New Orleans was remembered.

Several months later we sat on the front porch watching a deer and her fawns go down the trail to the creek.  “Why are you smiling 'Butch' ” I asked? 

“I was just thinking how happy you have made me” he responded. 

“Guess it’s a good thing I let you catch me as I tried to scale that wall at the clinic huh?”  Smiling he pulled me into his arms and reminded just who got the better deal of that encounter.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Shalita and Lucas for bringing these wonderful characters to our television screen


End file.
